Freedom to live at home
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Tillsonburg's Mary Small, who is going on 85 years old, does not want to go to a nursing home.
She likes her apartment, she likes the independence, she likes the freedom.
"I can do what I want, when I want, when I'm on my own," said Small.
She also appreciates assistance from the Tillsonburg Multi-Service Centre's Assisted Living Supportive Housing Program, which makes living at home a viable option.
"It's a program to keep you in your own home as long as you're able..." said Small, who has been participating in AL/SH for just over two years now. "Rather than having to leave and go to a nursing home, which I'm not looking forward to."
In addition to cleaning and personal care, personal support workers cue for medications, take clients to doctors, take clients out for groceries, advance meal prep, and they've even taken some clients to church.
"It's holistic care," said personal support worker Tina Klassen.
"They takes care of everything," said Small, who learned of the ALSH program through a social worker. Small, at the time, was told she passed all the program criteria.
"Criteria for what?" Small had asked with a laugh. "I didn't know, and I still don't know what all the criteria was. But it's a terrific program."
At first she worried about getting along with the personal support workers – would they like her, would she like them? She didn't have to worry.
"Tina (Klassen), she is the hugging one," Small smiled. "She comes in and hugs you. All the girls, they've all been great. I think I get along with all of them and I think they all get along with me. It's wonderful.
"When she leaves, if don't get the hug... it's just not the same."
The main thing is her peace of mind. She knows she can stay in her Tillsonburg apartment as long as she is able.
"I'm blind in one eye and I worry that one day I'm going to be totally blind. I said, if I go blind are you done with me? They said as long as I can get around the apartment on my own, they'll still take care of me. That is a wonderful feeling.
"It's also peace of mind for my family," said Small, noting she is not being pushed into a nursing home. "It's just a good feeling."
Her situation has changed over time, however. She doesn't go for groceries with a support worker anymore.
"It's hard going down the aisle – I can't see all the things... I do find that a little hard. I feel it takes me a longer to go through a grocery story. But I do think someday I'll go with her again."
"That's the beauty of the program," said Stonebridge/Multi-Service Centre's Diana Handsaeme. "We're going to take the time we need to help. That's our goal, to keep you connected to your community. It's all part of quality of life – we want you to have the best quality of life in this program."
"The nice thing about getting out, too, is the social aspect," said Klassen. "You may see someone there you haven't seen in a very long time."
"Your apartment is beautiful and it's home," Handsaeme nodded. "But it's nice to get out sometimes for a change of scenery."
FEELS LIKE FAMILY
"These girls coming in, they feel like family," said Small. "I was talking to my family when it first started and I said, 'Peggy, what do you really think about it?' And she said, "Mom, it's wonderful, because we don't have to worry anymore.'"
"Like you say, it's peace of mind for family to know that there are caregivers that truly honour and appreciate their clients," said Handsaeme. "We're that extension. We provide the care, and we provide the support. It's also important to keep in touch with family, so they can call and talk to you, or call and talk to us. We're the eyes and ears."
"We always do the 'assess,'" said Klassen. "If she's not feeling well, we keep that 'hug' at bay, until she's feeling better. Still, it is very important. You assess – then a hug."
"It's just a wonderful feeling," said Small. "You girls do a great job."
The support workers have invested in the care, said Handsaeme, and they are invested in Small's life.
"We have a very skilled staff. They assess the situation, they always do an environmental check, they make sure the client is okay. We have a care plan in place that is individualized to the client's needs, wherever they are. The nice part is, it changes. As the client changes, the care plan changes."
Small likes the continuity in staff – she likes seeing the same team of support workers.
"You're not suddenly being plunged in with someone different, someone you don't know," said Small, "and you've got to start all over."
"The nice thing about that, for us," said Klassen, "is that getting to know you so well, we know if there's a change even if it's something you haven't verbalized. Sometimes there are signs that they are different from the day before. So yes, it is nice to have that continuity. It's nice for clients, and it's also good us, the PSWs."
"I think as you get old, the continuity – seeing the same people – is important," said Small. "If you keep getting different people, you don't know who or what to expect. It makes a nervous environment."
"It's important to your well-being, it makes you feel safe," Handsaeme nodded.
"Every once in a while, when Pat gets her work done, we'll make a cup of coffee and sit and talk, and drink our coffee until it's time for her to go," said Small. "I find that very, very beneficial. It makes it feel like family, it's great. When we grew up, that was what we did."
"That's a lovely part of the Assisted Living Supportive Housing Program, that we're able to have that opportunity," Handsaeme nodded.
"I know it's changed me," said Small. "The program is great, I love the social part."
"Social time is very important," Klassen agreed.
HOLISTIC CARE
Klassen, who has been doing personal support work through the MSC for the past 13 years, joined the ALCom (Assisted Living in the Community), SH/AL program when it began about six years ago.
"When I was in class, they always talked about holistic care," said Klassen. "You're encompassing that person's entire being – their social, physical, spiritual, medical, all those aspects. Prior to that, we were going in to give a bath, do laundry, those key things... now, we can do doctor drives, grocery drives, social time, we can do everything that's going to give them the care they need to stay home longer. I thought that was just fantastic, I just love that. That's always what I wanted to do.
"Just to see the change in the clients, and hear their feedback, it's wonderful."
Small remembers the day when she had to admit she couldn't continue looking after her husband Bert, who had a stroke, by herself. He was put into a local nursing home.
"I was completely exhausted... I told the kids, I can't do it. I didn't know whether they'd get mad at me. I said, 'I know when you get married you say in sickness and in health, but I just can't do it.' And they weren't made at me at all.
"My feelings (about nursing homes) had changed maybe in 1978 when my mother was put in one. She was in this puny little room with another woman, and there was only enough room in the closet for... nothing. And I didn't like it. When Bert went in, it changed my ideas a lot. He did do activities, and he was helping to plant garden seeds. After Bert died, they have a Memory Garden and Bert's name is on it. But I had one or two meals with Bert... and that... well..."